Genetic Impact on Alcoholism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Genetic Impact on Alcoholism - Essay Example However, most current theory centers on the role of acetaldehyde in the body's ability to enjoy or reject alcohol. The Journal of Studies on Alcohol reported in 2005 found that the leveled response to alcohol among teenagers appears to identify family traits and holds the indication that alcoholism may be genetically linked. The study involved 487 subjects, of which 236 were male. The study was problematic by the need to study the alcohol effects on teenagers to establish correlation. Due to legal constraints the study was restricted to questionnaire. However, the study was able to establish a strong correlation between first degree relatives and the body's desirability for alcohol. The study used a Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) Questionnaire. Subjects were required to describe the effects that alcohol had on their mood. The results are useful in establishing the need for further research. However, the research has been criticized for technical shortcomings in the small sample size of some groups as well as the failure to accommodate social factors in the study. Research reported by Molecular Psychiatry has focused on acetaldehyde as a point for the study of alcohol and its relation to genetics. Acetaldehyde is a product of ethanol metabolism.